Morning.
It’s Crystal Palace at home this evening, and as I wrote yesterday, it’s a game that still matters even if Europe matters much more at this point. The semi-finals with PSG played a part in the pre-game questioning of Mikel Arteta and whether he wanted to rest everyone ahead of those games, his reply:
We cannot think in those terms. I think when the players are fit and they are available and they want to play, they have to play. And they are at their best when they are playing and they have consistency in their performances. And physically they are good, emotionally they are good, their understanding and their rhythm and the way they make decisions is at their best.
The amount of options that we have is not that many, especially because of where some of the players are coming and the amount of minutes that they can play.
There’s no Jorginho tonight with Arteta hinting his season is done due to the rib injury; Riccardo Calafiori isn’t available yet; and beyond that there are a few potential changes he could make. Thomas Partey could return to midfield after missing out against Ipswich, although if we have to play the Rice, Merino, Odegaard midfield trio against PSG, you could make the argument it might be useful for them to have another run-out this evening in a game which could be more competitive than one where you play an hour against 10 men.
I think we might see some rotation at full-back with Jurrien Timber and Myles Lewis-Skelly coming back in, after which the big question for me is whether you start Bukayo Saka after the nasty challenge on his Achilles on Sunday. Arteta says:
It’s nothing too serious. If we want to, I think he would have a good chance to play tomorrow.
Finding the balance between any possible risk of aggravating anything, and ensuring Saka’s match fitness is where it needs to be for the games against PSG, will obviously play a part in the manager’s decision making later. Personally, I’d be leaning towards the risk averse side of things but we know Saka always wants to play and Arteta always wants to play Saka when he’s available. So, let’s see.
Palace have their FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa on Saturday, and Oliver Glasner has spoken about making two or three changes for this evening, rather than wholesale rotation. It means it’s going to be a tough enough game, and perhaps some of the players given an opportunity this to play for the Eagles this evening will be out to convince the manager they should be considered for a larger part in that Wembley showdown.
In an ideal world this is a game we come through without any injuries, with zero drama or controversy, and with three points. After which we have 6 days to prepare for that first-leg with PSG. I’m not sure you’d bet on that being the case though the way this season has gone, and with both sides perhaps slightly distracted by more important games on the horizon, this could be a bit of an odd match. Neither manager will allow their players to think of anything else but this game in their preparations, but human nature is what it is so let’s see how this one plays out.
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There was some talk in the press conference about Saka’s contract, one of the myriad issues for Andrea Berta to get on top of this summer. Arteta said:
When the time comes we will have those conversations and I’m sure the club is very on top of it. I think Bukayo has been very clear what his intentions are as well. So, I think everything is in the right place.
There are others whose futures are obviously going to be discussed this summer. William Saliba, for example, is someone we absolutely need to keep and I’m sure that’s not news to the new Sporting Director or anyone else, but others are more likely to depart due to their contractual situations and/or their desire to play more regularly. On top of all the transfer work to do, it means a busy few months for Berta, but the positive noises around Saka are very welcome.
Elsewhere, a group called Gunners for Peace have urged Arsenal to drop the Visit Rwanda sleeve sponsorship with a new campaign. The current deal expires this summer, and my understanding is that it’s more likely to be somebody else on the sleeve next season rather than a renewal. The spotlight on this is interesting though, because ultimately it forces us to think beyond Visit Rwanda, and more broadly about sponsorships, endorsements and where the money in football (not just at Arsenal) comes from.
Finally for today, tickets for our end of season (ish) live show at Union Chapel with ArsenalVision go on sale later exclusively for Patreon members. We’ll make the ticket link available around 2pm today, and it will go live at 3pm. Tomorrow, there will be a small batch of tickets on general sale at 10am.
For more info, see patreon.com/arseblog where you’ll also find a Crystal Palace preview podcast and much more. Right, let’s leave it there for now. Join us later for live blog coverage, plus you’ll get the match report, goal clips, reaction, player ratings and much more over on Arseblog News.
Come on you reds!
